Process of manufacturing fuels



" easily ignitable fuels;

Patented June 6, 1933 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE FREDERICK KERN, or sir. Lou s, MISSOURI PROCESS OF MANUFACTURING- FUELS No Drawing.

This invention relates to a smokeless fuel, and with regard to certain more specific fea tures, to a smokeless fuel made from vegetable materials, for example, wood.

Among the several objects of the invention may be noted the provision of a smokeless fuel of the class described which is firm and hard and wear-resisting; a fuel of the class described which, when burned, forms a pot 10 rous,heat-retainingandheat-radiating sponge which, however, is reduced to a powdered ash with minimum trouble; a, fuel of the class described which is easily ignitable, and forms a suitable material for starting fires with less the provision of a process for manufacturing a fuel of the class described which provides for the recovery of valuable volatile products; a process of the class described which permits of the formation of the fuel in regular shapes or briquettes; and a process of the class described which is easily and economically carried 0 through with a minimum use of expensive treating materials. Other objects will be in 2, part obvious and in part pointed out hereinafter. I

The invention accordingly comprises the elements and combinations of elements, steps and sequence of steps and features of syn-- thesis which will be exemplified in the description hereinafter and the scope of the application of which will be indicated in the following claims.

Fuel materials made from comminuted 3 vegetable materials in which binders of molasses, pitch, tar, asphalt, water glass, and the like are used, are known to the art. Such fuels, employing carbonaceous materials as binders, are objectionable in that they burn with a smoky, sooty flame. Fuels employ ing water glass binders are objectionable in that they are difficult to ignite, on account of the well-known fireproofing qualities of said water glass. The present fuel overcomes said difficulties by presenting a binder material of non-combustible, inorganic, plasticizable material which does not retard ignition or combustion. r In carrying out the invention, comminuted 5 vegetable materials, such as wood fines or Application filed June 18, 1930. Serial No. 462,182.

sawdust, are mixed witha binder material suchas comminuted earthy materials, for example, carbonaceous shales, clays, and the like, having a high alkaline-earth metal content. The mixture is then treated with a; suitableplasticizing agent, which, according to the characteristics of the binder material,

may be water, acids, chloride solutions, or alkaline solutions. With suitable homogenizmg, as in a pug mill or wet pan, the commi-: ,nuted binder material is rendered plastic with "the plasticizing agent. The plastic binder material encloses the wood fines and renders the mass as a whole plastic and moldable. 7 1 As plasticizingagents, I havefound water j to begenerallysuccessful, and especially successful in combination with binder materials having high aluminum hydroxide and, colloidal silica contents, such as carbonaceous: shales' and clays. Acids and chloride solutions are of especial value in combination with binders having ahigh alkaline-earth metal content; alkalies are, similarly of especial valuef-withbinders having high silica con-. tents. l

1 The plastic mass of wood fines and binder material is next formed into shapes or briquettes, for example, by a ceramic extrus on such-valuable compounds as methanol, acetone, acetlc acid, wood tar, and hydrocarbons.

Subsequent to the distillation, which is terminated upon the substantial. cessation of the evolution of vapors, the-briquettes are cooled andthe cooled briquettes comprise the [fuel product. "nature of a jchar,

This fuel product 18,-in the interspersed -With and hardencdby the inorganic binder material, 1

which is now present as a hardened structural or skeletal binder. The fuel is easily ignitable, due to the absence of combustionretarding materials. Upon ignition the char material burns, and when entirely burned, leaves a highly porous sponge of inorganic material which is both heat-retaining and heat-radiating. The inorganic sponge holds its shape until broken down, as with a poker, into a fine ash powder. It is to be understood that this inorganic sponge is not hard in the nature of a clinker, requiring consid erable breaking force, but, on the contrary. is easily broken down with a minimum of force.

It is to be understood herein that vegetable materials generally, such as corn cobs, straw, sugar cane trash, tannery waste, and like cellular materials may be used in place of the wood fines described.

In view of the foregoing, it will be seen that the several objects of the invention are achieved and other advantageous results attained.

As many changes could be made in carrying out the above objects without departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

I claim:

1. The process of manufacturing fuels, which comprises comminuting a vegetable material, mixing therewith a binder mate- June, 1930.

FREDERICK E. KERN.

rial such as carbonaceous shales, clays,'and

the like, particularly those having a high aluminumhydroxide or collodial silica content, comprising a comminuted earthy material, plasticizing the mixture with water, forming the plastic mixture into shapes, and subjecting said shapes to a destructive distillation.

2. The process of manufacturing fuels, which comprises comminuting a vegetable material, mixing therewith a binder material comprising a comminuted earthy material such-as carbonaceous shales, clays, and the like, particularly those having a high alkaline-earth metal content, mixture with acids, forming the plastic mixture into shapes, and subjecting said shapes to a destructive distillation.

The process of manufacturing fuels, I

which comprises comminuting a vegetable material, mixing therewith a binder material comprising a comminuted earthy material such as carbonaceous shales, clays, and the like, particularly those having a high silica content, plasticizing the mixture with chloride solutions, forming the plastic mixture into shapes, and subjecting said shapes to a destructive distillation.

4. The process of manufacturing fuels, whichcomprises comminuting wood, mixing therewith comminuted carbonaceous shale, plasticizing the shale with water whereby the plasticizing the use 

